Who Can Vote? Chart

Students conduct some research on voting rights in various parts of the world. They will find that in some countries, no one is allowed to vote. Other countries have had universal suffrage (voting rights) since the end of the 19th century. Women were granted the right to cast ballots in Kuwait in 2005. Women won that right in Canada in 1917, except for Canadian native Americans (both men and women) who had to wait 42 more years to be allowed to vote.

In the past, people’s ages, genders, religion, and property ownership have been just some of the conditions for full suffrage. Students find out about the history of voting rights in your country. Compare requirements for voting there with requirements in other nations.

On posterboard, design a chart to compare voting practices in at least three countries. Pick the categories you will compare, such as age, residency, ethnicity, or gender. With a Crayola Erasable Colored Pencil, sketch columns to be cut out. Use Crayola Scissors to remove the column sections, leaving a border around the chart for titles.

Attach the chart to slightly larger posterboard. Connect ONLY the right side of the two pieces (you will slide country cards into the chart) using a Crayola Glue Stick. Label the chart and each section with Crayola Markers. Decorate eye-catching borders.

On one open file folder for each country, trace the cut-out areas of your chart. Record voting rights information inside these spaces with Crayola Twistables® Colored Pencils. Create a tab on the side with each country’s name and type of government. Slide two or more country cards into the chart at the same time by overlapping sections. Compare and contrast your information.

Possible classroom resources include: Vote! By Eileen Christelow; Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote by Tanya Lee Stone; Women's Right to Vote (Cornerstones of Freedom: Second) by Elaine Landau; A History of Voting Rights in America (Vote America) by Tamra Orr; Right To Vote (Campaigns for Change) by Sean Connolly

Students investigate current events and identify the "hot" voting rights issues currently facing countries. For example, in the United States a new law is asking all voters to present a picture ID. Also explore the reasoning behind the issues, such as voter fraud.

Divide the class into 3 groups. One group will be the judicial panel. The second and third groups will research whether or not voting is a human right. Hold a class debate on the topic.

Research U.S. history at the close of the American Civil War. Negroes were finally granted the right to vote, yet many were kept from voting. How was this done? What policies were put in place to stop interference with voting? Were these policies effective?

What is the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? Research its history and the approval process for this, as well as all amendments to the U.S. Constitution.